We are rocking right along now aren’t we? Week four of the new (and hopefully improved) Friday Baking with NotQuiteJuneCleaver. Lots to talk about this morning, but first, “THANK YOU” to all who are participating in this little event. As always comments for the “RedNeck Macaron/Challah” week ends this morning at 8 a.m. CST. Your new challenge recipes are YUMMY so… HAPPY BAKING!

In honor of Independence Day our theme this week is Red, White and Blue. One ingredient in each of the three recipes ~ one savory, one sweet and the Bonus Recipe will be either Red, White or Blue. And since July is National Blueberry Month your first recipe is for one amazing Fresh Blueberry Pie!

Recipe One:Fresh Blueberry Pie

If this recipe were any easier, it would have come in a box! Simple ingredients, simple directions, AMAZING pie! And before you ask…Rachel took these photos and I know I am biased but aren’t they beautiful? I am so excited that she and my older daughter are doing all the photos for our cookbook project…which by the way is going slower than I would like…but you expected that by now, right? But it is coming together! Without further delay here is your recipe for Fresh Blueberry Pie

Preparation:In a large bowl combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, lemon juice and grated rind, and blueberries. Roll out half of the pastry; line an 9-inch pie pan and trim edges. Pour berry mixture into pie crust and dot with small pieces of butter. Roll out remaining pastry to about 1/8 inch thick. Cover pie; trim, turn edge under and crimp. Cut a few vents in top of crust to allow steam to escape (didn’t think about it in time or I would have used one of my pie birds). Bake at 425° for 40 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned. For best slicing results, let the pie cool before slicing. We couldn’t wait!

Recipe Two:Stuffed Tomatoes

This is a recipe I have not made before this week. I have tomatoes EVERYWHERE! And this sounds so good! I love stuffed bell peppers so why not tomatoes? I can tell you right now there are members of my family who will remain nameless :cough: Hannah and Husband :cough: who wouldn’t touch them with a ten foot pole and would likely get “the look” on their faces if I suggested it. However, I think they sound YUMMY! So I made them before Husband arrived home. Plus, I wanted to be sure they were as good as they sounded. I cut the recipe by 2/3s since likely Rachel and I would be the only partakers. And we LOVED these. They are definitely a “make again” recipe! Just had no idea baked tomatoes would takes so good.

6 large tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

1 cup chopped onion

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, chopped (I used about 1/2 a jalapeno and a few tsp diced chillies…much more mild)

3 cups cooked rice (great way to use leftover rice)

6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, crumbled

salt and pepper, to taste

soft buttered bread crumbs

3/4 cup shredded Mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese ( I used Mozzarella and it was terrific)

Cut off top of tomatoes and scrape pulp out of inside, leaving a firm shell. Add pulp to skillet with the bell pepper, onion and jalapeno pepper. Cook covered over low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. Add rice and bacon and season to taste. Stuff this back into the tomatoes and sprinkle with bread crumbs and shredded cheese. Place tomatoes in a casserole or baking dish with about 1/4 cup of water to keep them from sticking. Cook in oven at 425° for 15 to 20 minutes or until tomatoes are tender.
Serves 6.

Now for your Bonus Recipe!

This is absolutely the most simple bread recipe IN THE WORLD! And represents the WHITE in this weeks theme.

Run the water in your faucet until it gets very warm. Many people worry that water that is too warm will kill the yeast and keep it from rising, but in his book The Complete New Book of Breads, Bernard Clayton, Jr. said that with today’s fast-rising yeast, the water temperature can be between 120 and 130 degrees. The warmer the water is, the faster the dough will rise. Pour 1/4 cup of water into a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Mix and let the mixture set while you measure and mix the flour and salt into the bowl for your mixer if you have a mixer with a dough hook and a large bowl if you plan to hand knead. Make a well in the flour and pour the water and yeast mixture in the hole. Slowly pour another 1 3/4 cup of warm water into the flour and mix well. With a dough hook, knead the dough for ten minutes, until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should feel damp and slightly firm, but not sticky. If it’s sticky, add a little more flour and continue kneading. If hand kneading put a little flour on your counter or cutting board. Pick up one side of the dough and push it into the other side with the heels of your hand. Rotate the dough and repeat the action. Continue rotating and pushing the dough with your hands for ten minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until it doubles in size. Press the dough down and divide it into two pieces. With your hands, make two long, smooth loaves about two inches thick and about twelve inches long. Place the loaves on a greased pan and let them rise again for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450°. When the loaves have doubled in size, make three or four diagonal slashes with a sharp knife. About five minutes before the loaves are ready to cook, put about 1/2 cup of water in a pan on the lowest rack of your oven. Place the loaves in the oven and bake for 25 or 30 minutes.

If Husband is making this bread he uses an egg wash and spritzes the loaves with water every 10 minutes during baking and they ARE CRUSTY. I usually just bake it. I don’t mind the softer crust.

This is simple enough to do several times a week. Which I don’t…but always plan to!

After last Thursday’s “heavy” post I thought I would give you a break! I am feeling rather giddy today as Husband is on his way home! He called from Paris at 5:30 and he was about to board the plane for Atlanta. If all goes as scheduled, I will see him step thru that gate at 9 tonight. A month is a very long time when he is gone, and OH SO short when he is home.

Don’t forget tomorrow is Friday Baking Day…closing comments for this challenge, new recipes added! And you will LOVE the new recipes! As you can tell I am in a bit of a rush today…things to do! But I have tomorrow’s post ready and waiting…and then remember the drawing for June will be on the last day of the month! Hey, why don’t you invite your friends to join us for Friday Baking fun?!

AND it is full steam ahead on International Overall Day this coming November. The interest is there, people are making contact and there is a flickr group started! I will post more about all the overall happenings next week. I am gathering more pictures to share and hopefully will have some fun stuff to share then.